Got a fault? | |
| During the last couple of years I've picked up a lot of information from various forums and web sites so I thought it might be useful to compile some notes here: The first thing to do when you get any sort of "No signal" problem is to test your Digibox on another dish that isn't giving problems. If the Digibox then works faultlessly (taking into account possible affects of temperature - give it time to get hot) then it's probably not the culprit. This isn't always the case because some Panasonic boxes are apparently "allergic" to certain LNBs. But if the Digibox shows the same symptoms in two separate locations, you can be fairly sure that it's faulty. If it works OK on a different dish then you need to look at your own system and consider that the cause of the fault lies there. Look for a tree in the way - this is a favourite in summer and more signal disappears when the leaves are wet. Look for a damaged cable. Is it kinked? Does it go through a wall plate or joint? Could water have gone inside the cable where it's scraping on roof tiles or where the LNB is connected? Is the LNB itself faulty? Try blasting it with a hair dryer at night. That often shows up a problem. If you've proved that your Digibox really IS faulty then there are a few things you can do to try to fix it in case it's just a problem with the settings. Firstly, is it possible that somebody changed some menu settings? Even small children can get into the "secret" Installer Menu so don't be surprised. Press [services] 401 [select] to get into the Installer menu. Don't look at the TV screen while you press this sequence or you'll get confused when some buttons appear to do nothing. Just press the full sequence then look. If it doesn't say "Installer Menu" press [backup] four times and try again. | |
| Press 1 for the LNB menu then press the red button to set the values to their defaults. Press [backup] then 2 to view the Default Transponder menu. Again press the red button then press [backup] four times. Everything is reset. | |
| If that didn't help, press [services] 46 to see the signal menu. The signal strength and signal quality should both be at least 40%. The Lock indicator should say OK and the Network ID should be 0002 (for Astra 2). If it's anything else then your dish is looking at the wrong satellite. |
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| Press [backup] to leave that menu and press 5 to see the System Details. The important thing to check here is that the EPG software and Operating System are the latest versions. I'll try to remember to update them here but the current ones for my TU-DSB40 are: EPG: 3.2.11 |
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| If either of yours is out of date (lower number than these) then you can try forcing a software update. DO NOT DO THIS UNLESS THE SIGNAL SCREEN SHOWS A GOOD SIGNAL AND QUALITY! You can cause permanent corruption of the data in memory if the signal is poor. Switch off the Digibox power at the wall socket. Press and hold [backup] on the front panel (you may need help to do this). Switch the power back on and continue to hold the [backup] button until all the front panel lights come on. (If you have a Scart connection to the TV you should see a warning message). Release the [backup] button and leave the Digibox for 15 minutes. It should now be in standby and should work normally when you switch it on. This is about all you can do to fix the fault. There are some repair kits available and some spare parts but you need to know what you are doing to fit these. Of course, if you can diagnose the fault cause and order the parts then your local TV repair shop might be able to carry out the repair for you. DIY repairs The simplest fix is for overheating. If your fault goes away when you run your Digibox on an open shelf without a cover then a miniature internal fan might help. But if your Digibox is even worse after being switched off and left to cool down, this is a sign that the electrolytic capacitors need to be replaced. Fan kits and capacitor kits can be bought from various places. Do a Google search for parts/kits | |
